To kick off2026, we’re officially launching our Shelter of the Month initiative, and we couldn’t imagine a more fitting place to start than the Australian Cattle Dog Rescue Association (ACDRA).
Each month, we’ll spotlight a different shelter or rescue and feature their adoptable pets as part of our Adoptable Tuesday series on Instagram and Facebook. We’re putting ad dollars behind these posts to help reach more potential adopters, and we’ll sponsor the adoption fee for the first animal adopted through the series each month. Our goal is simple: raise awareness, tell real stories, and help more animals find loving, forever homes.
Our connection to ACDRA comes through someone we already know well in the PetPocketbook community: Jen Fashing, owner of Little Critters Pet Sitters LLC in Ohio. Jen uses PetPocketbook to help run her pet sitting business, and through getting to know her, we also got to know the rescue that’s shaped so much of her life.
Jen, Rang, and the dog who changed everything
Jen’s story with ACDRA begins with a dog named Rang.
Back in 2012, before Jen ever imagined serving on a rescue board or fostering dozens of dogs, she was working in dog training and beginning to explore veterinary care. At the facility where she worked, someone relinquished a six-month-old Australian Cattle Dog. Rang was fearful, reactive, and overwhelmed. She nipped people and struggled to feel safe in the world around her.
Jen adopted her anyway.
Rang required time, patience, and training, and through that work, Jen began to truly understand the breed. Cattle dogs are brilliant, sensitive, intense, and deeply loyal. They thrive when they’re understood and supported, but without that, they often end up misunderstood and surrendered.
Rang became Jen’s soul dog. The one who taught her what cattle dogs need, how deeply they bond, and how transformative the right environment can be. Through Rang, Jen found ACDRA, and what started as a search for support turned into a lifelong commitment to rescue.
From foster home to board member
Jen began fostering with ACDRA shortly after adopting Rang. Over the years, she’s fostered more than 20 dogs, opening her home to puppies, adults, seniors, and dogs with special needs. Each foster comes with its own challenges, but also its own reward.
As her involvement grew, so did her leadership. Jen joined the fundraising team and eventually became a board member, where she now helps oversee day-to-day operations, approve medical care, support foster homes, and assist with difficult decisions that come with rescue work.
One of her proudest contributions is Dingo Bingo, a virtual fundraiser she started three years ago. What began as a small event with about 15 participants has grown into a community favorite, raising critical funds for the rescue each year and bringing supporters together in a fun, meaningful way.
Jen’s work in rescue often overlaps with her day-to-day pet care business, creating some pretty special outcomes. One of her foster dogs, Ernie, became best friends with Stella, a husky who attended daycare with Jen through Little Critters. When Stella’s parents came to pick her up one day, Jen made a gentle suggestion: “I think Stella and Ernie might be inseparable.” They agreed and ended up adopting Ernie, giving him the perfect home right next to his best friend. It was a full-circle moment that only happens when pet care and rescue collide in the right hands.
What ACDRA does and how they help cattle dogs thrive
The Australian Cattle Dog Rescue Association was founded in 2002 with a clear mission: rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome Australian Cattle Dogs and cattle dog mixes who are abandoned, surrendered, or at risk in shelters.
ACDRA is entirely volunteer-run and foster-based. There is no central facility. Instead, dogs are placed in homes across the East Coast, from Maine to Georgia, where they receive individualized care, training, and time to decompress. This approach allows the rescue to truly understand each dog and match them with a home that fits their needs.
Since 2008, ACDRA has rescued over 3,000 dogs. They are committed to finding the right home for each one, no matter how long it takes. Education, responsible placement, and long-term support are central to their work.
One of the rescue’s biggest challenges is foster availability. Without enough foster homes, they can’t say yes to every dog who needs help. That’s why community involvement is so critical, whether that means fostering, transporting dogs, helping with events, or simply sharing posts to spread the word.
Tang’s story: a rescue that changed everything
One of the most powerful stories in ACDRA’s history belongs to a dog named Tang.
In 2013, ACDRA’s current president, MJ, was on a family trip to Pennsylvania when her husband noticed a red face peering out from under a stairwell at a Tanger Outlets mall. Tang had been living there for weeks. She had dug a nest into the ground, survived on scraps from open garbage cans, and drank from a pond behind the mall. No one could get close to her.
Mall security told MJ that she couldn’t attempt to catch Tang unless she was affiliated with a rescue. MJ posted a plea on Facebook, and within minutes, ACDRA members responded. The rescue made MJ a member immediately so she could take action.
Volunteers came together that night and over the next two days. They grilled chicken and hot dogs near Tang’s nest, ran extension cords from nearby stores, and set up a 24-hour watch as a snowstorm approached. When Tang avoided the trap, volunteers smeared bacon grease inside to entice her.
Two days after MJ and her family had to return home, Tang was safely captured. MJ had promised from the beginning that if Tang was caught, she would take her. After a brief stay with a temporary foster and a carefully coordinated transport, Tang joined MJ’s family.
Tang stayed with MJ for the rest of her life. She became her heart dog and the reason MJ became deeply involved with ACDRA. Today, MJ serves as the organization’s president, and Tang’s story remains a reminder of what’s possible when people come together for one dog.
Adoptable Tuesdays and how we’re supporting ACDRA
Throughout this month, we’ll be featuring four adoptable dogs from ACDRA as part of our Adoptable Tuesday series on Instagram and Facebook. For one of these four dogs, we’ll be sponsoring the adoption fee to help remove one more barrier to adoption.
One of the dogs you’ll meet is Chandler, who is currently being fostered by Jen. Chandler is learning the ropes of home life, building confidence, and showing just how special cattle dogs can be when given time and care.
We’ll be sharing more about this month’s featured dogs, Gary, Chandler, Buddy, and other adoptables throughout the month and encouraging our community to help spread the word.
How you can help
If you’re inspired by ACDRA’s work, there are so many ways to get involved. You can apply to foster or adopt a dog, become a member of the rescue, make a donation to support medical care and transport, or join a virtual event like Dingo Bingo. Even something as simple as sharing a social media post or telling a friend can help the right dog find their forever home.
However you choose to support, your actions matter. ACDRA is powered by volunteers, foster families, and people who care. Every helping hand brings another dog one step closer to safety and love. We're proud to share their story and kick off our Shelter of the Month series with a group making such a lasting impact.
